WOW - 5 weeks already!!!

So much has happened & it has taken me this long to work out how to use the HTC on the Mac - so not a computer geek.


So to start at the beginning, here are some shots of how I left the home apartment - so much work but I am very happy with the results.

Almost did not want to leave this - had great fun making it and the burn is all healed now LOL

Tidiest the kitchen has ever looked since we bought it!! LOL

 
Now onto the travel part - flight was very good, hardly any anxiety just very long. Really tested even my legendary endless patience. 2nd leg saw me utilising the sleep mask & ear plugs for a lovely 6 hour sleep which made me feel much better on landing in London at 5am. So exceedingly good to see the Prince & have him in my arms again. 

EDITED to add: just so I keep this real, I should add that even though the first couple of days were fantastic, I spent my first couple of weeks in a maelstrom of tears, emotional roller coasters, a kind of homesickness & crippling agoraphobia! The Prince was wonderful! & I am really glad it has passed!

As it was our 2nd anniversary on the weekend and to help with the jet lag my darling Prince took us of to the Porchester Baths for a spa day. This is the oldest spa in London, built around 1920's & just amazing!! If you ever get the chance GO! it also has a pool next door that is part of the spa experience.
Following week saw us off to Cambridge to soak up some history. Train trip took only one hour & 10 minutes - excellent trip. We had a wonderful walk through the town soaking up the views, the canal is lovely & we loved the "Cambridge Comedy Channel". Self renters trying to steer the punts - just hysterical!! One group of young women spent 20 minutes banging into everything available & only moving around 100 feet. Priceless!!
Saturday 23 July saw us catching up with the Prince's brother, went to 2 different markets & bought some great items for our home & some great fruit & veg.
Sunday 31 July saw us off to Leigh on Sea, the Prince to do some work & me to my first car boot sale!! Car boot did not happen but I had a terrific time at the Leigh on Sea fish festival instead. The Prince joined me later.
I loved the "beach" - really just a very small strip of sharp sand at the edge of the estuary but the sun was out and so was lots of pasty white British flesh.

This is one of the estuaries of the Thames and only a 30 minute train trip from home. I can see we will be off down here as often as possible, it is just lovely. It has massive tidal flows, saw the mud flats, then covered in water, then back to mud flats again in around 7 hours - very cool but I can see how people could get trapped out there - especially as lots of people here can't swim.
Had lots of fun at the fish blessing festival & got to meet one of my heroes - rope maker Des Pawson!! I even got to make a length of rope with him!! Stoked!! LOL

Came home and discovered that we have a badger set in our back yard!! So excited!! There are apparently only 30,000 in the whole UK so we feel particularly lucky to have one in our back yard. No photos yet but I have managed to narrow its appearance down to an hour & a half in the wee smalls so soon I hope. Here is the entry to the set - the peg is for perspective. This is the hole I fell into, or should I say this hole opened up as I stepped onto what looked like solid ground. The ankle is better now :)

It is wild life central here, so many foxes it is hard to count - they are so cool and not bothered by the hoomans at all. We have an old fashioned dove/ pigeon that lives in our yard, we have named him Bert & he has a friend we have named Ernie. Embiggen the pic for a better look. (can't find my camera yet & am only using the one on the phone so not so good at getting a long shot)

Begonia, badger hole & Bert

Well the Prince has just come home and it looks like it is Pimms o'clock in the garden time!!! 
Till next time I'm off!!! 


Love
Lush xox

Warning - there will be Kittehs!!!

So welcome to Box World!!! The packing process has been exhausting!!! Not to mention that The Prince & I thought we would knock it all over in the week before he left for the UK!!! LOLOLOL I know, (shaking head) AMATEURS!!!

Needless to say it took much longer. The cats loved climbing on the box piles and Princess Daisy kept running into them (who says she moves around by rote??)

But the good news is that the boxes are in storage & the others are off over the sea to London. Yay!!!

BEST. REMOVERS. EVER!! Worked like Trojans & were so tidy and respectful. Thanks lads!!

The funny thing is that since The Prince is missing the kids are making more of an effort to get along - or maybe it is just the cold weather?? LOL

What do yo mean "You need the basket" ??? It's busy.

Hip time with Mama

My turn. Miss you Daddy.

That little bit of brown fur under Ms Flynn is The Princess Daisy

Princess Daisy & Diego Pavlova catching some rare sunshine

The cats are very happy with the new big screen TV!! To say they are glued is an understatement. Daisy has no idea.

Cartoons on the big screen?

We like!!!

And A belated Happy Birthday to the Man Child. 25 years young in June!!! My stars it does not feel like that many!! And then again it does. Time is weird :)

Lush xox

Melbourne trip

Ok so I am doing some "catch up" posts. We had a lovely weekend in Melbourne staying with The Prince's best friend from childhood, the lovely Mezza of Fitzroy! She has the most gorgeous home, a huge Georgian terrace purchased eons ago before Fitzroy was as popular as it has become. (Think Paddington, Sydney siders). Here is the beautiful Door Goddess!

We had a lovely wander around the old stomping ground & The Prince did a bit of reminiscing about the days in the old school yard.

As is always the case in Melbourne we had fantastic food, terrific Thai at "Easy Tiger" on Smith St - genuine "fine dining" Super Yummy!! Also "The Wine Bar" in the city - apparently the Head Chef is the guy behind the prisoner/chef program Conviction Kitchen (?? never saw anything more than the adds) but the food & wine were superb!! Best of all was that I got to meet The Prince's Aunty M. Had a lovely time and am really sorry we live so far apart as it would be lovely to have her drop in & be a bigger part of our lives. Never mind we will have to converse via the web and arrange regular visits.

As always Melbourne offered fantastic graffiti, intriguing shop windows & interesting wares!

Not to mention spectacular architecture! Sydney will rue the day they let the developers demolish at will.

Parliament House lights

As you can tell I LOVE Melbourne. Hmmm it may be the next place to live?? After London of course!!

Lush xox

Good evening, the names Nemesis, Arch Nemesis.

The Queen has been very busy culling possessions and let's face it she has been totally sans Ruth but let's face it, with me, she has met her match! No matter how much she tries, she just can't seem to get me under control.

Her very good friend, Mrs J came over & showed the Queen the correct way to thread Gretchen, (the very expensive new sewing machine). This saved Gretchen from a fate worse than Ebay. Since then the Queen  has been sewing like a demon especially for a couple of babies due in June and has completed & made several quilt tops but really she has barely made a dent in me. 

Barely fills a carrier bag. It's a flesh wound!! Ha!

A small peak at some of the baby things

May be for sale - if she can get it quilted before July :)

Sneak peak of the back of a baby quilt

Sneak peak of the front

Started in 2006!!! Finished (well the top at least)  & yes that is hand stitched around each leaf!!

The fur kids love this one!

Here I am in almost all my glory.

Here is my Alter Ego, Slim

And here are a few of the Undercover operatives.

You can see her problem.

This weeks push will be to finish this 40th Wedding Anniversary surprise for her Sister and Brother in Law.

No one mention that their anniversary was last year.

And don't think she is alone in this futile pursuit.

Meet the Prince's wall 'o' books.

Oh yeah. End of June is totally doable!!!

Bwahhhaaaa haahhaaaaaa

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